NaNoWriMo2015 Journal

#NaNoWriMo LOG: DAY 05 (A 1st Timer's Journey) In a non-NaNoWriMo month, I love using the hours between 5:30a - 7:30a Pacific as prime time to get some client/coaching work done. Most of my clients right now are conveniently located in the East Coast time zone, so it just makes sense to be more aligned with their schedules, and it keeps my Pacific time zone afternoons more flexible. When the house is quiet, I get tons done. As a first-time NaNoWriMo-er, I decided waking-up one hour earlier to allow time for my writing seemed like a good place to start. For four days this approach has proven smooth sailing.

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”-Benjamin Franklin

Occasionally my six-year-old daughter Zia likes to be awake when I'm awake. Today was one of those days. It isn't so much that I need literal silence as I need the ability to not be interrupted. Zia is not so good at silence or not interrupting. She wants hugs, she has stories to tell, even when she is off doing things by herself, she’s singing and giggling. It’s adorable and I love it, but it definitely makes focusing a bit of a challenge.

It’s days like today that remind me that planning is for the birds. If planning works for you, I don’t mean to slam that. That’s awesome, you crazy, efficient bird! For me, I had to let go of the planning mindset a long time ago because I found that when things didn’t go as planned, it stressed me out. When I let go of the plan, I let go of the stress. Freedom! Instead, I make my list of three things and I do the best I can to get those three things done during life as it happens throughout the day. This is as close as I want to get to planning, anymore. There’s no separation of work and life. There are goals and objectives but no single approach that will get us there. I love my work, it is a beat in the pulse of my life. As are my kids, my cats, my writing and my conversations with the man I love.

Despite the variance of today’s rhythm, I did great on my word count today.